"Hearts of Stone, pt 2" by Heidi Hecht

The Moon-

Humans weren't allowed in Veroshi Sector on the Moon at all, so Tera agreed to meet with the Rianan cult leaders in a neutral place. Few Guardians ever left the Sector except when escorting a Veroshi. Tera wouldn't if the Rianans weren't troublesome enough to warrant the attention. The Enforcers were helping, but anything that might compromise the Veroshi's safety was the Guardians' business.

She slid a piece of grilled beef off a kabob as she listened to Riana. Most upscale restaurants had seating for Grebsas and it wasn't like Riana couldn't afford it. After all, the Rianans had signed all their assets over to him.

"I made a picture of you in your true human form." Riana slid a piece of paper across the table. "It must be nearly unbearable for you to be in your beast form."

"One learns to live with it," Tera responded indifferently.

She looked at the picture. It was a good enough drawing, she supposed, but it wasn't her. She wondered how, short of beating him over the head with it, she would make Riana understand.

"The Veroshi have brainwashed you," said Riana.

"The Grebsa Network existed for millennia before the Veroshi came. There was no brainwashing involved."

"We just want you back. You're my niece, you know."

She sighed. There was no use denying it, not to someone like Riana who already knew the truth anyway. Her mother, a ch'nai, had been more militant than even most Enforcers about keeping humans under control.

"We Guardians swore to defend the Veroshi of our own free will."

"That's what they want you to think."

"If any one of us was being brainwashed or hypnotized, the rest of us would know about it and act accordingly. That's one of the benefits of the Network. We would know if the Veroshi meant to control us."

"But what if they could do something all at once to the entire Network, so you wouldn't realize it?"

"It doesn't work that way. It takes time to transmit something over the Network. We would still realize we were being affected."

"Can you effectively fight it?"

"We can keep a Grebsa who has been mentally tampered with from infecting the entire Network and help the unfortunate Grebsa counteract it. We would have done that if the Veroshi had tried to hypnotize our people. We love them because we choose to love. They love us and I doubt that it ever occurred to any of them to try controlling us against our will."

The petite lady on Riana's right pushed the food around on her plate. It was a good way to look uninterested.

Her mental voice whispered in Tera's mind, *You're not going to convince him. He means to destroy the Veroshi if he can.*

*Thank you, Shadow.*

The Shadows were a special Grebsa faction, engineered for enhanced senses, reflexes, and strength, who looked human enough to fool anyone who wasn't a member of the Network. They were spies who generally wormed their way into positions where they wouldn't particularly be noticed and where they could conveniently overhear or intercept much in the way of "secret" or "confidential" communications. This one was probably some minor attach\'e9 or secretary for Riana.

"You Guardians don't see much in the way of human life, do you?" said Riana.

"No, but we hear a lot about it from the Enforcers."

Riana chuckled. "I'm sure you do. How about you come take a tour of our complex? It'll help you understand how we live."

*Is it safe?* Tera asked the Shadow.

*I think so. The Rianans wouldn't hurt a Grebsa, especially when she's Riana's niece. And I have a pretty good idea of what he's planning. We'll need to discuss it.*

"I'd like to see it," she said, as smoothly as if she had merely been considering it for a moment.

Riana was thrilled. He knew he already had his niece half convinced. He gloated to Tiffany, who was content to listen, as usual.

"I knew she'd love me. She's flying above us, all eager to see our little family. Inviting her to dinner was a magnificent idea."

Tiffany smiled and nodded. The invitation had actually been her idea. She knew Tera would never agree to it any other way.

Riana suddenly turned serious.

"She doesn't think the Veroshi are dominating her, does she?"

"She's like most Guardians. She doesn't think the Veroshi are capable of such a thing."

Because they aren't! Tiffany thought, but didn't say. As a Shadow, she was quite good at keeping any emotion, even her dislike of Riana, off her face.

"You seem to know a lot about the Grebsas."

Tiffany backtracked quickly, "I've done a couple of years in one of their prisons for a minor theft. I got to know a few of the younger Enforcers pretty well."

"I see. Were they nice?"

"They were civil, but not friendly. They didn't answer very many of my questions, but they did say they would back up the Guardians if it ever came to a fight over the Veroshi."

"The Factions get along pretty well, don't they?"

"I would imagine so. It would be harder to fight with their linked minds and knowing how all the other members are feeling."

"That's true."

Tiffany felt she had manuevered her way out of that one fairly well. It would be almost time for the Rianans to tip their hand, something she had been manuevering towards for close to five years now. Tera wouldn't be happy about it, but the Veroshi would be safe in the end.

Tera landed on the walk, not far from the vehicle that Tiffany and Riana were just getting out of. It had been a relatively quiet flight through the human sectors, meaning she had only swooped to stop two purse-snatchers on the way. She wouldn't be surprised if that second one was still screaming, the way he had been when she handed him over to an Enforcer in mid-flight. She hadn't been able to resist, even though she'd had to do some fast flying to keep up with Riana's limo. She had the breeding and instincts of a hunter, after all, and the threat of a Grebsa swooping out of nowhere did discourage petty crime.

She allowed Riana to hug her, briefly, before he entered a code into a keypad. Silly device. For her, picking it would have been the work of fifteen minutes, tops. The doors swung open and Riana allowed Tera to precede him into the complex.

A rope contraption dropped from a place above the inside of the door, right where it wouldn't be seen until it was too late. Snared but not down, Tera roared her anger and struggled, but the netting closed around her and was too strong for even her bestial strength to break.

*Don't struggle. You'll just hurt yourself. I have an idea that might stop the Rianans without any Veroshi being hurt, but you mustn't fight it.*

It was the Shadow. Tera shot a vicious glare at her. It was rare for a Grebsa to go renegade, but the Shadows were more prone to it. Tera quit struggling and aimed the glare at Riana.

He said, "I'm sorry, Tera, but it's necessary. We need to get rid of the Veroshi and their influence. You won't be harmed, I swear it."

His word didn't mean a lot to her. Four Rianans lifted the bound Tera into the back of a pickup truck and they drove to a large house. She spent the time transmitting the situation to the other Guardians. They were furious, of course, and swore to free her as soon as they could.

*Protect the Veroshi, they're the important ones,* she told them. *Don't be afraid to call on the Enforcers. It's their job to keep the humans under control.*

The four Rianans transferred Tera into the house and laid her on a couch similar to the ones the Grebsas used normally. They slipped a muzzle over her face and tied it securely to a desk leg. It was all Tera could do to tolerate the indignity without biting their hands off. Then, they removed the netting and left her alone.

The Grebsas tried to keep the news from the Veroshi, knowing how they would feel, but Riana managed to hack into High Priestess Tranna's private commlink with a near-command to meet with him about the issue. Of course, she went flying straight to Captain Eran th'nai Tera. He invited her into his apartment, bleary-eyed but always willing to receive a shaken priestess. He made her a cup of tea using the blend she always said helped her to relax and she smiled gratefully at him as he gave it to her. She told him all about it.

"It was scary, having him show up on the screen like that. I can tell he hates us."

"He's a cult leader. Human rationality is unreliable at the best of times, but cultists are the worst."

"Should I meet with him like he said?"

"No, it's too dangerous. Don't worry about Tera. We'll have her free in a few days at the outside."

"Who are the Rianans, anyway?"

"They're a bunch who are convinced that we're really human under all the fur and we only need to remember it."

"Riana said we were controlling you somehow and he wanted us to set you free."

"We know that isn't true."

"Oh, Eran, we would never consider such a thing! We love you and haven't we always been faithful to you?"

"You have and I love you and you can just let us worry about Riana. I'll have somebody figure out how he got into your commlink and you won't ever hear from him again."

Tranna set aside her teacup and went to hug him. Eran held her gently, pleased and proud that Tranna had enough faith in him to come speak with him about it. The universe couldn't be all bad when it could spawn people like the Veroshi, who weren't afraid to love the Grebsas and cry on their shoulders when they were sad or frightened. The Grebsas were very lucky to have them.

"You really don't think we're controlling you?"

"No, my dear, you're too sweet-natured for that."

Tranna smiled and carressed his mane. Grebsas were very accessible gods. The Veroshi would never be able to repay the Grebsas for taking them in, creating the Veroshi communities, and protecting them. Perhaps the Grebsas knew that and, as a result, never mentioned it, or perhaps they simply never thought about it. The Veroshi were very lucky to have them.

"Is it all right if I stay with you tonight? It's easy to get lost in the dark."

"Of course."

The next day-

Reona awoke on Eran's couch. He slept on the floor next to her, available if she needed him for anything. He had let her cling to him for a while last night. There wasn't anything improper about it. Sometimes she just needed to feel a god's strong arms around her for a while, just like the Grebsas needed the Veroshi to pamper them and heal their wounds.

Eran stirred and looked at Reona with sleepy, trusting eyes.

"I love you," Reona told him.

"My dear one, I love you, too."

Reona stroked his mane and gave him a kiss. He purred.

"I shouldn't be late for the service," she said.

"I'll fly you back."

They flew back to the temple together. As they landed, an acolyte ran out to meet them. He bowed and gasped a greeting to Eran.

"Priestess, Perran is ill. She claims it's minor, but she can't stop shivering even when we raise the room temperature."

Eran promptly checked with her.

*Influenza,* she said, sounding miserable even through the mental link. *The acolytes are no help. I had to give six of them something useful to do to keep them from wringing their hands over me. I'm glad the one I sent to find Reona reached you. Where was she, anyway?*

*She spent the night with me. That cult leader, Riana, hacked into her private commlink. Frightened her badly enough for her to come all the way to me. I ordered a complete check of the security protocols. I'll fill in at the service. You just rest and take your medicine.*

*I sent one of them to fetch a potion for me. I'll remember to drink it.*

*Be nice.*

"I did think she was coming down with something last night. Can you fill in for us this morning, Eran?" Reona was asking.

"Of course. I already spoke with Perran about it," Eran said.

The acolyte led him to a set of rooms where he was thoroughly washed, brushed, and blow-dried by six assistants. They were worried about Perran.

"She'll be fine," Eran reassured them as they curled his mane. "Influenza usually runs its course in about a week. She's likely to be grouchy until then."

Perran rumbled inside his head.

*Well, you are!*

Finally, the assistants declared him ready. Two acolytes came in and clipped leads to his collar. He let them lead him to the sanctuary, where a Veroshi choir was already singing a soft hymn. They crescendoed as the acolytes walked him down the center aisle and finished as he settled on the bench in front of the altar. The acolyte unclipped the leads and took places on either side.

Reona came through a door to the left of the altar. She wore a feathered headdress and a robe of incandescent silk. Eran thought she looked beautiful. Of course, Eran had never known any Veroshi to be less than beautiful, even when she showed up at his door in her nightdress. From her manner, one wouldn't guess that she had been the frightened Veroshi of last night.

Reona turned to bow to Eran. He lifted his whiskers.

The service ended with Eran blessing the congregation. He felt a little uncomfortable with it. He had never understood where their Honored Prophet Rora had gotten the idea that the Grebsas were gods.

*I don't like it much, either,* Pranna assured him. *I would feel better about it if the Veroshi actually had a choice in the matter.*

*Good point.*

The acolytes attached their leads to Eran again and led him out. Instead of taking him to Pranna's quarters as he had requested, though, they took him back to the bath. Well, fair enough. During the individual blessings, a newborn puppy had made a mess on Eran's fur.

*I have suggested that infants be diapered for the service,* Pranna said sympathetically. *The Veroshi are showing a little independence. They don't see the point of infants having to wear their own stink.*

So, the assistants bathed him again. Rossa found him there.

"How is Tera doing?" she asked.

"The Enforcers are taking care of it. Tera should be back by this evening."

Captain Idon's Enforcer squad joined five others in the square that often acted as a launching pad for major Enforcer missions. Several Veroshi were there, as well. They would give the Enforcers shoulder rubs and herbal concoctions that would dull the pain of any wounds before they left. Idon knew how much the Veroshi hated seeing their gods going off on risky missions; in fact, several of them were whining and being petted by Enforcers they had become close to. It wasn't only Guardians who had close relationships with their worshippers.

*Poor little Veroshi,* said Idon's wingsecond and sister, Ariana. *I wish humans could be as innocent and harmless. It would solve a lot of problems.*

*And make the Enforcers an obsolete show Faction.*

*Can't have everything.*

Idon curled his tail as three Veroshi approached his squad. He reminded himself of the ancient Agreement between Veroshi and Grebsas. Grebsas will protect Veroshi, and Veroshi will serve, pamper, and worship their gods. Something which the Veroshi claimed was foreordained and the Grebsas accepted with good grace. He signaled his squad to relax while the Veroshi sang a hymn and ministered to them.

That hymn is at least five thousand years old, Idon mused as he drank the herbal brew they gave him. The Veroshi haven't changed very much since we've known them. But, then, we haven't, either. For the Grebsas with their reincarnated memory lines, change was glacially slow. For the Veroshi. . .Well, they couldn't help it. They were compelled by their own genetic code to serve their gods. They are more like us than they realize. We can't help being what we are. And if we changed that, we wouldn't be Grebsas and they wouldn't be Veroshi. Idon was proud of what he was and it would only traumatize the Veroshi to imply that their love and worship wasn't good enough for their reluctant gods.

Their love was good enough. Always had been, always would be. It was his job to make certain he deserved the Veroshi's sweet faith.

A bellow from one of the captains made several Grebsas and Veroshi jump. Ariana rolled her eyes.

*Of course Urtho would be anxious to get going. He always was impatient.*

*He is also in charge of this operation,* Idon noted drily.

The Veroshi hastily replaced Idon's shoulder padding, golden armor, and helmet. Idon made certain to thank her before ordering his squad into formation. Humor aside, he could see Urtho's point. If they delayed, they might send the wrong message to humans everywhere. Nobody kidnapped a Grebsa and got away with it.

The Veroshi retreated to the perimeter of the square. As the six squads flew to rescue Commander Tera, the darlings gave them a lovely send-off with a more recent hymn. Idon didn't catch more than the first line: "The strength of the Grebsa is the strength of all. . ."

*Stuff and nonsense,* Ariana muttered.

*But they believe it. And don't say you never let the Veroshi give you a bath. I saw you.*

*You know they lassoed me.*

The Veroshi made a game of lassoing off-duty Grebsas who were overdue for some pampering. Ariana was one of those they chased down regularly. Idon didn't particularly see why she hated being pampered and told her so.

*It's not that I hate it. I just hate that the Veroshi are slaves of their own genetic code.* Her tail lashed. *They can't even have children without our approval!*

*We can't reasonably do anything about it.*

*You're right. We can't blame them for what their Prophet did. I still don't like it.*

*That's okay. Just make sure you don't struggle when they take you to the baths next time.*

Ariana snorted. She hadn't been struggling the last time. She had entirely forgotten that it was one of the Veroshi's roundup days. When the Veroshi lassoed her, her startled reaction had nearly yanked them both out of the sky. Entirely my fault. I made up for it by letting him comb some expensive perfume into my fur. Paid for entirely out of Network funds, of course. Besides protecting the Veroshi, the Grebsas paid all their expenses. Humans don't like that it comes out of their taxes, but it's part of the Agreement. Besides, if we didn't, humans would be screaming about our lack of compassion. We just can't make them happy. Unlike the Veroshi who just want a little attention.

Ariana shoved her woolgathering aside when the mental timber of the flying squads changed. They were getting close to Riana's enclave. Here's where the fun begins.

Tera was wrestling with the muzzle when Riana brought a platter of steaks into her prison. She couldn't think of it as anything but a prison. As much as they might delude themselves into thinking they were treating her decently, the Rianans were still holding her captive.

"What's the matter, Tera? Is it too tight?"

"I want it off," Tera mumbled. The muzzle would not allow her to do much more than mumble.

"I know, Tera. We were worried that you might try to escape. We've seen what even a single Grebsa can do when angered."

"And what would you do if I did?"

"We would not kill you, if that's what you mean. You've suffered enough already because of the Veroshi. The most we would do is stun you."

Tera grunted. Obviously, Riana didn't know how much the Guardians loved the Veroshi. Once in her brief memory line (only eight generations), Tera had taken a fatal wound for their sake. Even that horrid stinging pain and the annoyance of adjusting to a new, kittenish body wasn't enough to make her think twice about defending the Veroshi.

It didn't matter much. The Enforcers were on their way to rescue her. Since she wasn't seriously injured or killed, she would simply let the Veroshi give her a bath. Then, she would go straight back to duty. This whole mess would simply become one memory out of many.

Riana placed a stand-up tray near Tera and set the platter on it.

"I brought you some steaks. You're probably starving."

He removed the muzzle. Tera worked the kinks out of her jaw. There had never been a single cultist who was mentally stable, but Riana had to be a bigger idiot than most. Didn't he realize he was sitting next to a trained killer?

"We've always known you're our kin. How many children are taken on Search every year? Half a million? A million? And your own mother is ch'nai."

Tera bristled a little. No human seemed to get the Veroshi language quite right. The Priestesses would call it sacrilege to mispronounce the word for "adopted child." Tera was more inclined to excuse it on the grounds that humans had stunted snouts. They just can't handle the nuances. And even if they could, they would stick to their own accents out of contrariness. She did not bother to tell Riana that it was a soft ch at the beginning of ch'nai.

"There's a reason we have to claim them."

"Yes, and we understand that some are escaping an awful situation. We also know that they are becoming the Veroshi's slaves. We just never knew why you tolerate the situation."

"No slaver can hold a Grebsa for long. You might be excused for not knowing the Veroshi very well. They worship us as gods and would never enslave anybody."

"That's just what they tell you."

Tera hastily blinked away tears. She didn't want Riana to see her cry. He would never understand. Every Grebsa knew that the Veroshi would not last long without their help. Veroshi were just too sweet and innocent, and humans were just too savage.

Riana touched her shoulder. "I know, it's hard. It really is for the best. I love you."

Tera snarled and slashed his cheek, leaving four parallel claw marks. He squealed like a pig and ran for his life. Idiot. Tera resisted the urge to tongue-wash every part Riana had come in contact with. Wearing the filth was bad enough. Having it in her mouth would be worse. Instead, she went through a series of stretches as she waited for the right moment to spring into action.

Tiffany entered a code into the keypad and pressed her hand against the palm reader. She had earned her place in Riana's cult as a technician, and that gave her access to all the sensitive defense equipment Riana insisted on.

Riana has always been a bit unhinged. No sane person would have taken my suggestion that we kidnap a Grebsa seriously. But, then, this was the reason the Shadows existed in the first place: to identify potential threats to the Network and, if possible, arrange circumstances so that the humans involved would pretty much hang themselves. Even if it means I have a Guardian angry with me. Surely she would understand that the Rianans would have tried to harm Veroshi eventually.

To make it work, Tiffany had to get that shield down. She slipped into the building, making certain to close the door and engage the locks after her. If she failed, she could always claim that she had simply checked the shield, as she did every day. After all, the Enforcers could easily get hurt if their lasgun bolts ricocheted instead of being absorbed by the grounders. No Rianan wanted to actually harm a Grebsa.

She shook her head and glanced at the security control circuits in passing. What a simple thing it was to slave them over to a remote control and rig a few false tapes. The Enforcers have better. Right at the moment, they would be showing her striding confidently down the corridor as she did every day about this time.

She picked it up to a jog. There was a "cricket" lasgun up her sleeve, but she doubted she would have to resort to it. Her hand-to-hand combat training was likely to see her through if she ran into problems. I'm not the only one to have access to this building. If I was to stage an ambush, it would be in or near the shield room.

She made it to the shield room without incident. With her right hand poised to snap the lasgun into it, she opened the door with her left. Somebody was leaned over the control panel. The person whirled, crouching in something resembling a defensive stance.

"You're off balance, Bethany," Tiffany noted as she came into the room. "If I meant to hurt you, I would knock you over easily."

"What are you doing here?" Bethany snapped.

"I might ask you the same thing. I know you're Riana's favorite, but you're no technician."

Bethany glared silently. Tiffany walked around her and checked the control panel. There were several error messages above strings of half-baked programming code. Amateur.

"Ah, I see. Trying a bit of hacking, huh? Sloppy work, if you are."

"You should not have suggested that we kidnapped that Grebsa. You got us into a lot of trouble."

"I didn't mean for Riana to take me seriously. Here, let me show you how to do it."

Bethany edged forward warily. Tiffany cleared the screen, bypassed the codes, and brought down the shields.

"How did you do that?" asked Bethany.

Tiffany sighed. "I'll be sure to mention your attempt to bring down these shields during your trial."

Bethany's eyes went wide with realization. "You're a Shadow!"

"Yesss," Tiffany hissed. "Don't look so shocked. Anyone with brains would have known that we would infiltrate the Rianans."

Months before, Bethany might have taken offense. But not now. Not when it didn't matter. Most people feared Shadows, and for good reason. However, if Tiffany hadn't killed her by now, she probably wouldn't.

Somebody shrieked outside. Bethany jumped.

"Enforcers?"

"Commander Tera."

They ran outside.

Riana rubbed his bandaged cheek while he watched the security monitors. The Grebsas were attacking the outer shields. It was a good, if futile, show of flying skill. Surely they know their lasgun fire can't get through that. I'll bet the Veroshi goaded them into "doing something" about us. This way, the Grebsas can at least say they tried.

He had given orders not to harm any of the half-hearted attackers, any of whom could be somebody's sibling or child. He and his followers could wait until they gave it up as worthless.

Perhaps I can give Tiffany a token reward for suggesting this. She's earned it. Heaven knows she's had enough heartbreak over the way the Veroshi ripped her family apart.

She claimed that her brother had been taken in the Search and she was willing to risk anything to find him again. Riana, being a fair hacker, had checked her records and found that she wasn't lying. She and an Enforcer named Bronx had the same mother, though not the same father. She had once served a six-month sentence in a labor camp for harrassing an Enforcer about it. He also had his suspicions about the two-year sentence she had served for stealing. Had she deliberately let herself be caught so she could learn more?

He chuckled to himself. Last night, he had used his hacking skills to get that Veroshi High Priestess on the comm. That had been a good piece of work by his lights. He couldn't remember her name, Rana or something like that. Most Veroshi names were R-names. They could claim to worship the Grebsas, and Tera obviously believed it. Riana knew perfectly well that it was a ruse. He had certainly scared the priestess pretty badly when he confronted her with it. That just means it's true, he told himself. Those pretty little slavers don't want the truth getting out.

He started when he heard screams and roaring. Tera! Riana ran to the door, though he didn't know what he could do against a Grebsa who was giving full vent to her rage. He firmly reminded himself that Grebsas weren't as alien as they would have humans believe and grabbed his stun gun. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use it. If he could talk Tera down, he would. He ran out of his house.

"Don't shoot except on my order!" he bellowed as he sprinted toward the rampaging Tera.

Tera bowled Tiffany over. Riana cringed, expecting her to make a gruesome kill. Instead, Tera sighted another human who was trying to aim a stun gun.

"No!" Riana barked. "Put that away!"

Too late. Tera took flight just as the human was firing. The stun-blast merely grazed Tera's forepaw. Tera roared again. The sensation of her paw suddenly going numb merely served to enrage her even more. She pounced on the human and, this time, made the kill.

Tiffany pulled herself to her feet, a bit rumpled and shaken but alive.

"Are you all right?" Riana muttered to her as he passed.

"I'll live," she muttered back. Riana noted that she was rubbing her collarbone.

Riana shouted, "Tera! Tera, listen to me!"

Tera turned to him with a snort. He had seen that expression once, on the bull at a bullfight right before it charged. He almost expected her to paw the ground.

"Tera, why are you doing this? You're my niece."

"That is unimportant, human," she snarled. "You mean as much to me as an ant I might squash under my feet. If the Veroshi did not plead for mercy, there would not be a living human in Sol System."

"You are their slaves!" he shrieked.

Tera pounced, knocking Riana down. He tried to get a shot off, but it went wild. She pinned him with a paw on each of his shoulder and roared in his face. He cringed, expecting to feel her teeth on his throat. He couldn't imagine how he could have been so stupid. His niece was dead. In her place was a wild creature which no human could tame. The Veroshi must have been more powerful than any human could fathom to conquer her ancestors and to control them for thousands of years.

"We are not slaves," she growled softly in his ear. "We are the Lords of Sol System and Gods of the Veroshi. You would have done better to remember that, little human."

Cries of dismay heralded the arrival of the Enforcers. Tera held Riana between her paws until two Grebsas landed beside her. One of them gave her a concerned look. She huffed and stuck her nose in the air. Riana could just imagine her telling them precisely what they thought of cultists. She backed off and watched them secure him. He gave her one last, regretful look before they led him away.

"I'll miss you, Tera."

She only turned his tail to him and flew off.

That afternoon, Tera dropped Tiffany off at the Shadows' enclave. It wasn't much; just a place the Shadows could go when they were between assignments. Tucked unobtrusively between two larger Enforcer apartment buildings, it was officially a complex where humans attached to various Grebsas could stay.

*You did well,* Tera told her. *I hope your Commander gives you a promotion. I can see why you hated Riana so much. I'm not angry at you for wanting to end the assignment quickly.*

*Thank you.*

Tera excused herself and went to let the Veroshi bathe her. Tiffany checked in and took the stairs to her rooms. She sensed a few identifying "pings" from fellow Shadows. Making sure I'm not human. Standard operating procedure. To a Shadow, it didn't take much imagination to picture a human trying to turn the tables on them. Which would be fairly idiotic, even coming from a human.

The floor shook under her feet as she unlocked the door to her apartment, not enough to knock her down but enough for her to notice. She steadied herself against the door frame until it stopped. The Moon wasn't prone to quakes, and the Shadows' building was built to withstand shaking at any rate.

Tiffany checked with the other Shadows and with Enforcers in the neighboring buildings. They confirmed that they had felt the same thing. There was no damage, nobody was hurt, but nobody knew what would have caused it.

She shrugged it off. A quick shower and some sleep would help her shake off the "Tiffany Granger" persona. She would get a few weeks' break. Then, the Shadow Commander would probably assign her to another part of the Moon and she could forget all about the Rianans.

Actually, I did promise to testify at Bethany's trial. Her hacking skills were amateurish, but she did try. The judge may take that into account. Fair's fair. Then I can forget about it.

MARS-

Lizzy walked up the ramp, trying to act like she was just going on a little trip. Stacen stalked up after her. It raised into position, becoming just another part of the hull. They were finally all on board Stacen's shuttle.

"So, what happens now?" asked Lizzy.

Stacen shrugged. "I just go up to the cockpit, arrange for departure, and we leave Mars."

"It feels a little anticlimactic."

"And then we try not to kill each other until we get to Earth."

Lizzy laughed, maybe a little louder than the joke deserved. Stacen went into the cockpit, leaving her to get settled in.

She found the bedroom with her stuff in it. Most of it was heirlooms. Olan, House Sulan's retainer, had just about had a cat when she insisted on taking those along. Never mind the premiums she had paid for extra cargo weight and extra security during her trip to Mars. If those items were lost to theft or accidents, they couldn't be replaced. Even Lizzy's reminder that most of it would go to Stacen even if he decided to stay on Mars hadn't helped much.

Lizzy bounced in place. Stacen was busy handling departure protocols. She didn't feel comfortable approaching his mate. Gana's public file indicated that she was an Enforcer. The Enforcers had always dealt fairly with House Sulan, but Lizzy knew their reputation as well as anyone. If Gana was typical, she would not be happy about having to travel in close quarters with a human for months.

Stars. I'll go nuts if I don't have somebody to talk to for the duration. By process of elimination, that meant Stacen's pretty Veroshi. Lizzy decided to go see if she could make friends. She found Rora in the kitchen, pounding on dough.

"Hello, Rora."

Rora took one look at Lizzy and launched into the air with a panicked look on her face. She began screaming in Veroshi'i. Lizzy held up her hands.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just looking for a friend. I-arp!"

A sharp blow from behind sent Lizzy plummeting at the floor. A female Grebsa leaped into the room, roaring in fury. Lizzy instinctively rolled to one side and then realized the mistake she had just made. If she even appeared to resist, it would only escalate things. The Grebsa, an Enforcer by the pattern of stylized claws and teeth on her collar, pinned her to the floor.

"Why are you bothering my mate's Special One?" snarled the Enforcer.

Lizzy gasped, "I can't breathe!"

The pressure on her back let up, only enough for her to breathe shallowly.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear your throat out right now."

Lizzy writhed. "I don't even know what you would call a good reason. I just know you have orders to take me to the Moon for trial."

"Our superiors would not blame us if we have to kill you. Stacen is Rora's protector and I am his protector. You will do well to remember that."

The Enforcer let go of Lizzy and spoke gently to Rora in Veroshi'i. Lizzy got up, rubbing her back. She was going to have bruises there. This Grebsa had to be Gana.

"I don't understand. Are you Stacen's Guardian?"

Gana snarled, "Do not insult Stacen or me. I am nobody's Guardian. I am Stacen's protector. I swore to defend him at all costs."

Rora said something to Gana in a whining tone. Gana answered, sounding like she was trying to reassure Stacen's "Special One." Lizzy took the opportunity to look her over. She hadn't imagined that an Enforcer impressive enough to win the heart of an Honor Line would be so round in the midsection. Had she let herself get plump? No; that didn't feel right. No Enforcer would let herself get quite that fat unless she had a medical condition. Then, Lizzy realized what was up. Stacen was going to be a father soon.

Gana gave Lizzy a level look.

"You'll have to stay in your quarters. Rora's still shaky after yesterday's incident and she doesn't need you scaring her on top of that."

Lizzy sighed and left the kitchen. Grebsas didn't give hints. Gana clearly expected "the human" to have a minimal amount of sense and stay out of the way. As for Rora, well, she had probably been taught all her life to be afraid of humans. Lizzy wanted to be fair. Incidents like Rora being injured by that gang just reinforced that. Still, she wanted to have a good, long talk with her brother about it.

Stacen emerged from the cockpit. Lizzy hated ambushing him. That sort of thing wasn't honorable by New Japanese standards. However, she wasn't going to get anywhere if she couldn't even talk to him. Stacen seemed to listen intently to something she couldn't hear, and then he looked directly at her.

"Gana says you've been scaring Rora."

"I didn't mean to. Is it really necessary to teach her to be so afraid of humans?"

"We have our reasons."

Stacen turned away to go into the kitchen. Lizzy grabbed a handful of his mane.

"Explain your 'reasons' to me, Stacen. It's not fair that every innocent human pay for the actions of a few."

Stacen jerked away. "Don't talk to me about fair. I shall not waste my time explaining things to you when you will only choose not to understand anyway. You humans always make things more complicated than they need to be."

"For cat's sake-" Lizzy didn't realize how crazy that expression would sound to Stacen until it was out of her mouth. "Help me understand. Please. I'm sure it's something blindingly simple."

"Those ruffians who chased Rora are nothing unusual. You want to destroy whatever is beautiful, simply because it is beautiful. I shall protect my adopted daughter against all threats, no matter what they are. If that means teaching her to be afraid, then that is what I will do."

Having said his piece, he went into the kitchen to tend to Rora. Lizzy wanted to follow and argue the point, but she didn't want to face two angry Grebsas and a panicked Veroshi. As her father had so often pointed out, there was a difference between being brave and being suicidal. A strategic withdrawal did have its value. She decided to return to her quarters and make certain the heirlooms had made it. It was a convenient excuse and she knew it, but it would give everybody a chance to calm down.

Gana offered to stay with Rora and help her with the bread. Rora wagged her tail. Her "Auntie Gana" had taught her all about baking. She would protect her from the human, as well.

Stacen slipped out of the kitchen with his tail twitching. He would never say it out loud, but he thought it was a mistake to have a Veroshi and a human on the same shuttle. Even if she wasn't accused of a crime, that was just asking for trouble. Any junior Enforcer could have handled this. He had been planning to take a sabbatical to take Rora on a pilgrimage to Earth anyway, but that was no excuse.

He began to wonder if he should have overriden Commander Karine and made her refer Lizzy Sulan to the Enforcers. As an Honor Line, he had the right to do that. Never mind that the Priestesses had been harping about a prophecy. The Veroshi had made an epic interstellar pilgrimage on the strength of a prophecy but that didn't mean the Guardians had to appease them on the coincidence that some series of events resembled something in the Scriptures.

Commander Karine broke into his thoughts, *Is the human making trouble already?*

Stacen told her exactly what he thought of having a human on the same shuttle as his adopted daughter.

*I'm sorry, Commander, but Gana caught her scaring Rora. If that's the sort of thing I have to put up with for the next nine months, I seriously doubt Lizzy Sulan is going to survive it.*

Karine was silent for a moment. Then, she said, *I'm sorry, Stacen, I wasn't thinking. You could just lock Lizzy in her quarters for the duration and have Gana deliver her meals.*

*That might work. Especially if I make it clear that Gana has permission to shred the human if provoked into it.*

*Don't get too bloodthirsty.*

Stacen said sarcastically, *It's always a fine balance, isn't it? We have to protect the Veroshi, but we don't want to kill anyone.*

Karine didn't answer that one. That had been a low blow and Stacen knew it, but it was hypocritical to tell him not to kill. If a human got into the Veroshi settlements without permission, the Guardians were, perhaps, more quick to kill than even the Enforcers. No one would reasonably blame him if something happened. Humans were devilishly clever and there was no telling what Lizzy would do if she took it into her head to make herself a real nuisance.